A decision support model for buying battery electric vehicles considering consumer learning and psychological behavior

Developments in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have received more and more attentions in the last decades due to alleviating carbon emissions and energy crisis. Consequently, how to rank alternative BEVs to assist consumers make better purchasing decisions is a worthy research study. However, there are still some defects in the existing studies for ranking of BEVs: 1) the evaluation index system of BEVs is not comprehensive; 2) the determination of criteria weights cannot be well applied to the actual purchase scenarios; and 3) the psychological behavior of consumers is ignored. To address those shortcomings, this paper proposes a decision support model to assist with consumers to buy BEVs. First, a systematic evaluation criteria system of BEVs including quantitative and qualitative indicators from parameter configurations and online reviews is constructed. Then, a weight algorithm considering consumer learning is proposed to determine the criteria weights. Furthermore, a decision support process considering consumers' regret avoidance behavior is proposed. Finally, an actual BEV purchase case is given to illustrate the practicability of the decision support model. This can be seen in case studies the proposed support model can be well applied to consumers with different regret avoidance behaviours.     

The role of influencer–follower congruence in the relationship between influencer marketing and purchase behaviour

Over the last decade, influencer marketing has become one of the most important tools for companies and brands to increase awareness, sales, or image strength. Since consumers prefer brands and companies whose image is congruent with their actual or ideal self, we could expect that consumers tend to prefer influencers whom they can compare themselves with. Therefore, congruence between consumer and influencer is imperative in influencer marketing and may indicate whether the influencer will be able to promote products to the target audience in an appealing way. Using a quantitative empirical study, we surveyed more than 7500 individuals measuring how they perceive a specific influencer's credibility, content usefulness, congruence, and purchase behaviour. The results suggest that if there is a congruence between an influencer and the follower, the impact of the influencer's experience and its content usefulness on purchase behaviour is stronger.     

Uncovering asset stripping during China's privatization

This paper empirically studies the occurrence and extent of asset stripping via undervaluing public assets during the mass privatization of state-owned and collectively owned enterprises in China. Using three waves of a national survey of private firms, we provide evidence that state-owned and collectively owned assets were substantially underpriced, indicating the presence of corruption during privatization. Further analysis shows that the extent of underpricing is more severe in regions with less market competition or weaker property rights protection, and more pronounced for intangible assets such as intellectual property rights and land use rights. When comparing firm efficiency between privatized firms and de novo private firms, we find that the former group continues to enjoy considerable preferential treatments, yet significantly underperforms the latter, possibly due to continued government control and intervention. Finally, we provide evidence that insider privatization is an important source of corruption during the privatization process.     

Too afraid to vote? The effects of COVID-19 on voting behaviour

This paper studies the causal effect of local exposure to COVID-19 on voting behaviour and electoral outcomes using evidence from the regional elections held in Spain on 12 July 2020. Exploiting the variation in exposure to COVID-19 and using a difference-in-differences identification strategy, we show that turnout was between 2.6 and 5.1 percentage points lower in municipalities that experienced positive cases of COVID-19. In addition, the results show a substantial increase in the probability of voting for nationalist parties. We discuss the idea of perceived fear being the potential mechanism driving our results.     

Mitigating panic buying behavior in the epidemic: An evolutionary game perspective

The panic buying behavior under public health emergencies will lead to many adverse consequences, such as material waste, price fluctuation and uneven distribution of epidemic prevention materials, which will pose a threat to the social stability and economic development. In this paper, we construct a tripartite game model to explore the strategic choices of the public, merchants and the government in order to effectively respond to the panic buying behavior in the epidemic. The results demonstrate that: (1) Eight evolutionary stable strategies emerge in the panic buying events. The worst scenario can be improved by adjusting some relevant parameters. (2) The probability of the public choosing the strategy of “not involving in panic buying” depends on the potential benefits and losses of snapping up, rather than the extent of price rising. (3) The probability of merchants choosing the strategy of “not bid up price” depends on the intangible benefits. (4) The probability of the government choosing the strategy of “active supervision” depends on the supervision costs and government credibility, rather than the amount of fines. In addition, strategic suggestions to mitigate panic buying behavior are put forward from the perspective of each stakeholder.     

Herding behaviour and the declining value relevance of accounting information: evidence from an emerging stock market

This article sheds light on the underlying mechanisms behind the changes in the value relevance of accounting information in the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) during the 1999–2010 period. We find that neither changes in earnings quality nor the earnings lack of timeliness hypothesis can explain the decline in the value relevance of accounting information in the KSE. Based on the stylized facts associated with the growth of the KSE and the broader economics literature, we argue that the reduction in the explanatory power of accounting information vis-à-vis stock returns was caused by herding behaviour. Empirical estimates from state-space model of herding behaviour confirm the existence of herding, and we find that the value relevance of accounting information is significantly lower in periods characterized by herding behaviour. This article is also amongst the first attempts to empirically demonstrate that an expansionary monetary policy and increases in foreign portfolio investment lead to increased levels of herding.     

Estimating the value of political connections in China: Evidence from sudden deaths of politically connected independent directors

This paper estimates the value of political connections by examining stock price reactions to sudden deaths of retired government officials who were acting as independent directors of private firms in China from 2003 to 2012. Employing an event study, we find that, if a private firm loses political connections because of the sudden death of an independent director who was previously a government official, its stock price drops 3.61% on average within ten trading days. After the loss of political connections, we find that it is possible but infeasible for a private firm to reestablish political connections with the government in a short period of time. Moreover, the sudden death of a retired government official leads to a reduction in the economic benefits (e.g., bank loans, tax preference, and government subsidies) obtained by a private firm, which provides a reasonable explanation for the negative stock price reaction after losing political connections.     

地方政府债务空间与空间债务——基于地根经济的区位黏性视角

本文从人口流动的区位黏性这一全新视角，将地方政府性债务的李嘉图等价命题纳入新经济地理研究框架进行理论分析。为了进一步揭示理论模型的政策含义，采用空间计量方法验证沿海地区地方政府性债务的局部正相关特征。最优的债务政策取决于经济系统的初始条件，在非对称经济结构已经存在的情况下，单纯建设本地区的基础设施只会降低区域内的交易成本，这对于那些仅着眼于投巨资用于城市“硬件”建设的地方政府来说显然是一叶障目。建议依靠基础设施网络提高区域协同创新能力，培育规模报酬递增的专业化产业集群。     

Older consumers’ perceptions of functional foods and non‐edible health‐enhancing innovations

Increasing interest in health and well‐being is likely to drive a growth in demand for products that have positive effects on health. Consumers’ acceptance of and willingness to buy functional foods has been widely studied, but there has not been research on consumers’ attitudes towards innovative non‐edible products with health effects. This study examines how older consumers perceive functional foods and novel non‐edible health‐enhancing products, how willing they are to purchase such products, and how health orientation influences their views. As an example of a ‘radical’ innovation, consumers’ acceptance of rubbing their hands in a specific soil‐based mixture to modulate the immune system is explored. The research material, 13 thematic interviews, was collected in Lahti region, Finland, in 2015. The study indicates that the older consumers’ market is not homogeneous. Based on a qualitative, in‐depth approach, the study distinguishes four consumer segments with different lay understandings of health and attitudes towards health‐enhancing products, which influence people's willingness to purchase such products. The segments are health‐seeking consumers, cautious consumers, critical consumers and natural health consumers. Various motives and barriers for using products with health claims are also identified. The case of rubbing hands in organic soil‐based mixture indicates the difficulty of predicting which consumer segment will first adopt this kind of ‘radical’ innovation. The results highlight that the credence qualities of a novel product must be communicated and advertised before entering the market while also taking into account the sensory properties of the product. ‘Radical innovations’ must be in a form that consumers can easily accept.     

Organizational attention and learning under regulatory intervention: Governmental investigation into auto engine quality

We examine the efficacy of government regulation on a firm's product. We draw on the behavioural approach of organization research in order to understand the micromechanisms whereby the regulatory intervention process affects corporate operation. We suggest that while government investigations may limit the improvements in product quality by distracting a firm's attention, this unintended outcome depends on the extent to which the firm engages in a substantive problem‐solving process with the regulator during an investigation process. A longitudinal analysis of the US government's investigation into motor vehicle engine production offers overall support for our argument. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications that our findings present to learning theory and institutional literature. Copyright © 2017 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.